British justice has ruled, Thursday, February 27, to environmentalists. The latter opposed the expansion of London’s busiest Heathrow Airport in Europe. This decision could bury the project, unless the government reviews its copy.
The court ruled on appeal that this extension was not environmentally friendly enough and that the previous Conservative government, which approved it in 2018, should have taken more account of the Paris agreements aimed at limiting global warming. climate. Heathrow Airport immediately announced that it was appealing to the Supreme Court.
” We won ! “, immediately exulted the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who supported this complaint, rejected in first instance in 2019. For John Sauven, of the non-governmental organization Greenpeace, also involved alongside several districts of the capital, “The third runway is already on its knees with regard to its costs, noise, air pollution”, and now “The airport has too high an obstacle to overcome”.
Johnson also opposed to expansion
Boris Johnson’s government should now have a say in this staggering project which is expected to cost £ 14 billion in its first phase. The court ruling could settle the Prime Minister who has never hidden his opposition to this expansion.
He had said in the past that he would not hesitate to stand in the way of bulldozers to prevent the construction of the runway. And in December, he expressed ” doubts “ on the ability of promoters to preserve air quality and limit noise pollution.
The Heathrow expansion is under fire from critics of environmental movements who denounce the increase in pollution and noise pollution. In France, the collective against the extension of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport No to terminal 4 welcomes this decision:
“This is a historic decision, because it is the first time that a legal decision has relied on the climate emergency to cancel the extension of an airport. There is an urgent need to do the same in Roissy, where a mega-extension, a real climate bomb, is planned, which would increase traffic by almost 40%, the equivalent of Orly airport. “
Heathrow expansion work is scheduled to start in 2022 and take four years to complete. The project is to be funded by the consortium of investors who own the airport, including sovereign wealth funds from China, Singapore and Qatar.
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